Holding You Close
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: Maggie nearly made one of the biggest mistakes of her life when she almost let Hal Mason get away. What made her change her mind? Hal/Maggie


**This is my first attempt at a romance based fic… I hope it doesn't suck! Lyrics are from (don't shoot me, it's a nice song lol) Westlife's 'If I Let You Go.' This is set over season 1 and 2, but does not go past 2x07 – Molon Labe. **

**I hope you enjoy! Please review. **

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**HOLDING YOU CLOSE**

_**DancerInTheDark101**_

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_Maggie nearly made one of the biggest mistakes of her life when she almost let Hal Mason get away. What made her change her mind? Hal/Maggie_

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-FALLING SKIES-

The first time she really got a good look at him was when she was pressing a gun in his face. She'd been apprehensive when Pope had ordered her to take the boy back to his people, with his instructions about the weapons in exchange for the others. He'd tried to escape and had nearly succeeded. Only the training that had been provided by Pope had saved her.

She remembered looking into his eyes for the first time and there was no denying the spark that had flown between them. He had a girlfriend, (she hadn't known that at the time) but it was still there.

After she'd been set free of Pope's tyrannous leadership, she had immediately asked to be a fighter for the Second Mass, hopeful, but not expecting them to say yes. When they had, she'd been shocked. It hadn't taken long for her to be accepted into the ranks of the militia regiment's soldiers. They'd paired her with Hal to start with, letting the black-haired boy show her the ropes of how the Second Mass operated.

It hadn't been more than a day when they'd set off to get Hal's brother back – a younger brother who had been harnessed at the beginning of the invasion. She had seen groups of harnessed kids hanging round an old hospital and had led the small group consisting of herself, Hal, Tom Mason (Hal's father), Karen (Hal's girlfriend), Dai and Mike to where she had last seen the kids.

It hadn't really ended well. They'd got Ben back after Hal had decided to take a Trojan horse approach and stuck a dead harness to his back, infiltrating the hospital from in the inside. He'd killed the Skitter watching over them and they'd dragged Ben back. But in the process they had lost Karen. She'd been taken by the Skitters and no one had seen her since.

Hal had taken it hard. He was blaming himself.

It was at that time Maggie felt the first flutters of alien feelings inside. She had feared for Hal when he'd gone in alone, wondering if he was okay and she'd even told him one of her biggest secrets – about the cancer.

Time passed. Karen was still MIA and she and Hal got closer. She found herself opening up more and more to the dark-haired teen. But there were still things she hid – things only Pope knew.

However, it wasn't until those months after his father vanished that Maggie really started to trust him. They'd grown much, much closer in that time. She'd been there for him when he needed to let it out – the frustrations of trying to keep his younger brothers in line; the difficulties of having to step up in his father's absence. Ben hadn't helped the situation either, choosing to become a fighter and throwing himself continuously in the line of fire.

And then Hal had been there for her when she needed it. Granted, she hadn't needed it much at all, but he was still there.

Tom's reappearance had thrown everyone. Of course the Mason brothers were pleased, but Maggie was probably the only one who knew how much Hal had struggled with it all. He'd gone from having to continuously look after and take care of his brothers, along with the added pressure from Weaver. But with his father back, most of the responsibility had been stripped from him in an instant. Hal was still required to look after his brothers, and his voice still held a lot of influence in the grand scheme of things, but he wasn't needed as much. It had hurt him.

The one time she'd really needed Hal was when Jimmy had died. He'd been like a little brother to her. He'd looked up to her, followed her lead when required and in turn she had watched his back. She didn't blame Ben for his death, knowing that the young fighter was beating himself up enough for the both of them. Yes, it had been a stupid, reckless thing to do, but he was hurting enough. There was no need to add to it.

She hadn't cried at all. She'd come close once, when she and Hal had been sitting side by side on a fallen tree stump off the main road. They'd sat there for hours in silence, the knowledge that they were both there enough for them.

When Hal had all but declared his feelings for her at the hospital that day, Maggie had freaked. She'd known he had feelings for her, and deep down she knew she held the same for him, but when Hal brought it all out to the surface, it was too much.

Telling him about the tumours was a spur of the moment thing. She'd never meant to tell him, but she found when she was with him, it was easier to speak about the horrors of her past life. It was a mystery to her.

Being shot had hurt. The ambush had come out of nowhere and honestly she didn't think Hal would have come back for her. She'd resigned to death by that stage and when she'd woken and found out Hal had in fact saved her; a familiar feeling had fluttered deep in her stomach.

She'd pushed those feelings further inside. There was no way anything between them would ever work. He was too innocent, she was too damaged.

The events that followed the reappearance of Karen had been the turning point for her. She'd seen the way Hal looked at his ex-girlfriend, even as she toyed with them all. She'd seen the fact he still held feelings for her, had seen it clearly in his eyes.

They had still been there when Karen had run off with his younger brother, Ben. He was struggling to come to terms with the fact the Karen he had once known was gone – replaced by a monster-controlled robot.

When Boone died, something had snapped inside her. She'd been pushing Hal away because she felt she was too damaged. But it was hurting him. As much as she cared for him, what good would it do if he was dead? There was always the threat of death hanging over their heads.

It had been on that day that she'd thought of what life would be like without him.

Black.

That's what she'd seen in her imaginary world without Hal Mason.

Darkness.

And she'd come to the realisation that Hal Mason was the light in her life. He was the reason she smiled, the reason she was able to forget about her past and survive the present so that she could embrace the future – a future with him.

She'd thought of taking the easy way out – telling him time and time again 'no.' But she'd watched him deflate every time she deflected his feelings. They'd grown apart and Maggie found herself missing his smile; that certain smile he only unleashed when he was around her.

So when they were in the tunnels beneath the hospital, pending the attack, she decided to take fate into her own hands. Literally.

Grabbing his arm, she spun him around, her hands gravitating to his face. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his in a timid kiss – a kiss that quickly intensified as he reciprocated the gesture.

It was intense. The passion sparking between them was almost unbearable as she let go of every fear she had, instead embracing the feelings she had for the dark-haired boy before her. It was then that she realised this was what she had been waiting for, for many, many months.

As he turned back to the task he had attempted to do before she had kissed him, Maggie leant back against the wall, holding the flashlight in her hand.

She let herself smile, her lips still pulsing with the feeling of his on hers.

It was just to show that even in a desolate, war-torn world, good things still happened.

Her good thing just happened to be Hal Mason.

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_But if I let you go_

_I will never know,_

_What my life would be_

_Holding you close to me,_

_Will I ever see_

_You smiling back at me?_

_How will I know_

_If I let you go?_

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Uh, so how was it? I've never written something purely based on romance before… I hope it didn't suck… Please review and let me know if it wasn't too bad, or I should scrap it and never write anything remotely romance again lol.

Thanks for reading

-Dancer


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